Home | Business

The Frame of Beginning 

Beginnings are everywhere all the time. Everything has a beginning, middle and end. And when we begin with clarity and intention, it sets our path for what we can expect. Sitting down to start a presentation with a new client or prospect, how do you begin?

What is the frame that you set? Is it a frame of cooperation? Is it a frame of 'I'm right'? Is it a frame of 'you need me'? Is it a frame of 'you're going to do this'? Or is it a frame of 'I'm going to help figure out what you need and give it to you'?

Take a moment to identify the frames you begin with. . . whether with a new prospect, with a potential love interest, with a new employee or employer. . . What are the frames you start with. . . not the frames you think you should be starting with, but the actual frames you start with.

The following are two frames which my students came up with.

"I'm here to help you get what you want."

And, "I want to find out what you need.'

Let me give you some insight into these two frames.

When you say, 'I'm here to help you get what you want', you are inserting yourself into the picture. You are the 'I'. Getting what they want includes you. When you say, 'I want to find out what you need', you are finding out information, not performing an action and you are not in the frame.

Insert yourself into the buyer's mind so that you are a part of the answer.

You have to take action. Setting the frame from the start is the best way to take action. The frame of 'I'm going to help you get what you want' is an excellent way to start any interaction.

In some situations the best possible outcome is for you and your prospect not to do business. If you're not a good fit, the most useful thing to do is to help them not do business with us. This way we're not wasting each other's time. No problem. Part as friends. Move on to the next prospect.

If you don't insert yourself strategically into the frame to begin with, however, then you are running the risk of larger problems. It's possible you will not be seen as a person of action with whom they will want to work.

We're dealing with subtleties here but the subtleties count in a huge way. Remember, the person who sets the frame is going to win. You have to really consider what the frame is that you're attempting to set, and that it is in your mind when you enter into the situation that you're entering into.

If you leave yourself out of the frame, your prospect will know this. The may simply thank you for the information you've given them and then leave.

There's nothing manipulative in my opinion about inserting yourself into the frame. After all, they came to see you, or you came to see them and they let you in. What would be manipulative is if you tried to give them something they don't need or they don't want and that I have a real problem with it.

As the saying goes, 'You never get a second chance to make a first impression.' I'd go even further and say, 'You never get a second chance to powerfully, persuasively, positively set that first frame with yourself as the solution to your prospect's needs and wants.'

Before you even begin, have this be your intention.

Article Source: http://www.uberarticles.com/articles

Kenrick Cleveland teaches techniques to earn the business of affluent prospects using persuasion. He runs public and private seminars and offers home study courses and coaching programs in persuasion techniques.

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License, which means you may freely reprint it, in its entiretly, provided you include the author's resource box along with LIVE VISIBLE links (without "nofollow" tags).